SC asks Delhi HC to consider overweight airshostess plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the
Delhi High Court to consider the appeal filed by two
airhostess of Indian Airlines who were sacked for being
overweight.

A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and Surinder
Singh Nijjar also asked the High Court to examine the plea of
the 11 overweight airhostess who resumed flight duties after
trimming down for payment of salaries that were denied to them
during the period they were grounded.

"It is not disputed that during the pendency of the
proceedings in this court, 11 out of 13 appellants have
reduced weight to satisfy the acceptable norms and are already
back on duty. Therefore, in our opinion, nothing remains to be
decided in these appeals at this stage," the bench said in a
judgement.

Referring to the plea of counsel Arvind Sharma, the
apex court said some of the airhostess who had been dismissed
during the pendency of the appeal in the apex court can move
the high court against their dismissal which shall be decided
uninfluenced by any observation made by the high court in its
earlier order.

The airhostess had challenged the decision of the
Indian Airlines to remove them from flight duties and post
them on ground duties as they were found to be overweight.

The Delhi High Court had upheld the decision of the
airlines following which they had appealed in the apex court.

But during the pendency of the appeal in the apex
court, the airlines reportedly sacked nine other airhostess
who failed to reduce their weight while 11 out 13 others
grounded managed to reduce their weight and resume flight
duties. But only two of the sacked airhostess chose to file
their appeal in the apex court.